Transmitting Display Management Metadata Over HDMI

In an embodiment, a media source combines reference code values and mapping function parameters for mapping functions into video frames originally designated to carry pixel values. The video frames are delivered to a downstream device such as a media sink in an encoded video signal. The media sink extracts the mapping function parameters for the mapping functions from the encoded video signal and applies the mapping functions as a part of display management operations to map the reference code values to the mapped pixel values appropriate for the media sink. The mapped pixel values can be used to render images as represented by the reference code values.